Guest Opinion: Sing America's praises in any language

By now, you probably know about the mini-controversy that erupted following the recent drubbing of the Denver Broncos by the Seattle Seahawks. The suits and ties at Coca-Cola reached into their very deep pockets to produce a new Super Bowl commercial. It depicted a diverse cross-section of Americans and featured a soundtrack with America the Beautiful sung in several languages. Some people apparently didn't like it.

By now, you probably know about the mini-controversy that erupted following the recent drubbing of the Denver Broncos by the Seattle Seahawks. The suits and ties at Coca-Cola reached into their very deep pockets to produce a new Super Bowl commercial. It depicted a diverse cross-section of Americans and featured a soundtrack with America the Beautiful sung in several languages. Some people apparently didn't like it.

Former congressman and Tea Party pal Allen West called the ad "truly disturbing" because, in addition to English, it included "languages I didn't recognize." The whole thing was tailor-made for conservative talk radio where exploiting fear and cultivating resentment are daily specials on the menu.

This is Coke, friends. You know, the soft drink once called the Real Thing. But a 60-second spot from the company that would "like to teach the world to sing" was soon targeted by an angry little pocket of resistance. Let's put aside for a moment the idea that singing the praises of our country, quite literally, by anyone in any language should be considered a high compliment. What we got instead was a small, but loud, chorus of irritated folks who insist that it's OK for the world to sing, but it had better be in English.

At the risk of using an offensive non-English term, this episode had a real deja vu feel to it. It reminded me of an incident that occurred here about 30 years ago. At that time, a local charitable organization purchased space on some billboards displaying a message thanking the community for its support. One of them, maybe two, translated the message into Portuguese, offering a hearty "obrigado" to a segment of the population that gave a boost to the organization's recent fundraising campaign.

A few local residents reacted to the presence of a non-English message on a billboard by suddenly coming down with serious cases of the vapors, the willies and the heebie-jeebies.

The message was a predictable one: This is America, so speak English.

As a talk radio host at the time, I contacted a few who signed the letter to give them the chance to answer questions about their aversion to a language other than their own. There were no takers. However, some callers suggested that if you live in America, you should speak American. My efforts to remind them that "American" is not a language met with disapproval.

I was encouraged, however, by the fact that most of the on-air feedback I received about this "issue" was from people who thought the billboards were fine. And thankfully, the grumpy reaction to the America the Beautiful ad, despite all the amped up attention given it last week in the media, has quickly fizzled out like a glass of warm, flat Coke.

If being asked to "press 1 for English" makes your blood boil, you may need to rearrange your priorities. And if you think the expression of American patriotism in another tongue is offensive, I've got three words for you — E Pluribus Unum. Hey, that ain't English! No, it's the Latin motto inscribed on the Great Seal of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1782.

Page 2 of 2 - By the way, that All-American must-watch football game with the eye-popping spectacular halftime show was called Super Bowl XLVIII. And if I decided to grab a seat on the fear-mongering bandwagon and start a campaign that next year we drop Roman numerals and opt for something a bit less "foreign," a few of you might think it was a good idea.

So if that's how you view the world, or at least the country, here's a suggestion: Walk through the streets of Boston or any other major American city and listen to the conversations. For that matter, sit in a coffee shop or walk the aisles of a supermarket anywhere on the Southcoast and you'll hear a wide variety of accents and dialects — some in English, others not. And then ask yourself if exposure to the food, music, customs and, yes, the language of those many cultures makes your life better or worse. To me, the answer is an easy one.

Mike Moran is a well-known SouthCoast media personality. Email him at mikemoranfr@aol.com.

Mike Moran is a well-known SouthCoast media personality. Email him at mikemoranfr@aol.com.